From whence comes our help?

 Evil stalks the land. Ungodly rulers govern nations. Injustice prevails. Violence is felt all around us. Wars and rumors of wars make the national news. Hatred and greed fill the hearts of men and women. Every form of immorality is promoted as normal and praised. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Churches are burned to the ground, Christians are slaughtered and persecuted, and their cries are ignored. The teachings of Scripture are mocked and ignored. Churches abandon the clear teaching of the Scriptures and proclaim the messages desired by those with itching ears. Is there any hope for mankind, and if so where does this hope to be found?

Ps. 121:1 tells us, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." Our hope comes from God. The message of hope the world desperately needs can only come from the church as we proclaim the clear message of salvation that is found in the Word of God. The answers to the world's problems will not come from the White House, the State House or the Courthouse; those answers can only come from God's house.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about the end of times in Matthew 24 He made it clear that in the midst of the chaos of those times the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached. This is what we are called to do. Without apology or fear, we who are called to preach the gospel must do so boldly and without compromise. This is the time the church must rise up and be the church God called it to be offering hope, forgiveness and salvation to a lost and dying world.

We have allowed our culture to silence the prophetic voice of the church, and we see the ruin of that all around us. As the voice of the church has been silenced we have seen the pain of people increased. Like sheep without a shepherd, they wander aimlessly looking for answers to life's problems, and finding none they draw back within themselves, self-medicating their pain with whatever brings them momentary pleasure.

We cannot afford to be silent any longer. People for whom Jesus Christ gave His life are hurting. They are burdened down with life, and they need the hope that only the gospel can provide. We need to proclaim that hope, not only within our buildings but in every area of society. The marketplace needs to hear it as well as the Sunday school classroom. The halls of government need to hear it as well as those sitting in our sanctuaries. The school board meetings need to hear it as much as those in our small groups.

Not only do we need to proclaim the truths found in God's Word, we need to be in prayer for the future of our nation and the world around us. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 is still in our Bibles. It has been said that the army of God marches best when it is on its knees. We need to pray for revival, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this nation that will convict men and women of their sins and lead to repentance. We need that same revival in our churches.

I want to challenge the readers of this post to pray and ask God how He would have your respond the to the events we see unfolding all around us. Seek His guidance and courageously begin to live into that direction.

Turning walls into bridges

 During my doctoral studies I was blessed to have Dr. Elmer Towns teach two of my classes. The first class I took under Dr. Towns was on prayer. The second was on doing church in the 21st century. Both classes deeply impacted my life and ministry.

In the second class Dr. Towns was discussing the walls every church builds. These walls intentionally or unintentionally keep people out of our churches. He emphasized that every church had such walls, and then stood up, went around the room and asked each student how high the walls were around their church. He made each of us answer giving him a number between one and ten. Some admitted the walls surrounding their churches were rather high. Once every student answered he told us to tear down those walls and use them to build bridges into the communities God had given us. I'll never forget that discussion.

What are some of the potential walls that can be built up in a church? One wall I often encountered was the lack of hospitality in the church. Serving 14 years in regional ministry I had the opportunity to be in a different church nearly every week. Some of those churches were very welcoming to their guests; others made it very obvious they didn't care if we were there or not. "The friendliest church" in town often proved to be friendly only to the insiders. Studies reveal that guests usually decide whether to return or not within a few minutes after arriving at a church, even before the service begins. That decision is made on how well the church is prepared to receive guests and how they are treated once they are there.

Another wall in some churches is the worship service itself. I'm not making a comment about traditional versus contemporary services because I've been in churches were both were very well done. Regardless of the style of worship, some churches are simply boring. The music is uninspired; the messages lack sound biblical content, and everyone present seems they wished they were somewhere else. Such services are unlikely to bring hope and transformation to anyone.

A significant wall I've written elsewhere about is the controllers who exist in most churches. These people see themselves as guardians of the faith, but the only thing they are guarding is their positions and power in the church. They often drive away people faster than the church can bring them in. Working with conflicted churches in the past has provided me with numerous horror stories of controllers allowed to build huge bridges that keep people away from the church. To tear down the walls they build the church must first remove these people from their positions of authority.

The final wall I'll mention in this post is the wall of negativity. Some churches are better known for what they are against than what they are for. Their pastors address their weekly rant on whatever made the news the preceding week. I have visited churches where the pastor raged against the congregation, and was later told that was a normal Sunday in that church. I admit there was a time in my early ministry when I realized I had become fairly negative in my preaching. I realized I could say everything I wanted to say in a positive way or a negative way and committed that from that time forward I would become more positive in my preaching. People get beat up by life all week; they don't need to come to church for another round.

Once these walls have existed for some time we don't notice them any longer, but those outside our churches do. And our churches become known for them. Tearing down walls is costly and time-consuming, but it is the right thing to do. What walls exist in your church? Identify then, tear them down and begin to build bridges into your communities to reach people for Jesus Christ.

The pastor's study

One of the serious problems in too many churches is the lack of biblical knowledge that exists within the congregation. In a recently shared message in the church I currently serve I gave some illustrations of how serious this problem is. I recently read that 82 percent of Americans today believe that "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible. 12 percent believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife, and 50% of graduating seniors thought Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

We are a nation of biblical illiterates, and this applies to many in our congregations. Studies consistently find that the lack of biblical knowledge among Christians is appalling. We don't live according to biblical teaching because we don't know what the Bible teaches about important issues that impact our lives. Part of this is due to people not studying the Scriptures. Too many might take their Bibles to church, but after the service ends they toss it in the back seat so they'll know where it is next Sunday. They never open it between Sundays. However, I place much of the blame on those of us who stand behind the pulpits.

In too many churches the Scriptures have been watered down in hopes to attract more people. Pastors avoid the difficult texts so they don't offend people. They avoid controversial sections of the Bible to be politically correct and appear "woke." Some simply do not take the time to dig deep into the Scriptures to prepare for a sermon each week.  This is most often found in those churches that have changed the Pastor's Study into the Pastor's Office.

Words have meaning. An office is the place where administration occurs, plans are made, issues are addressed. Each of these are necessary in a church, and the pastor needs to be available to help with each of these. However, the study is where the real work of a church pastor should occur. It is in the study where the pastor prepares his or her message for the coming week. It is here where the deep study of Scripture occurs that is necessary for a message to contain a life-transforming message. It is in the study where the pastor prays and seeks God's guidance both for the message and for the administration that is needed in a church. It is in the study where the pastor must be able to escape the demands for his or her attention in order to focus on studying the Scriptures.

The study should be a place where the pastor has access to the commentaries and other Bible study aids either on the bookshelves or in the computer. It is in the study where he or she will wrestle with the Scriptures to attempt to understand what God is saying and wants to say to this congregation. When the pastor leaves the study he or she should do so with a word from God for the congregation.

Pastors, we don't need mancaves and we don't need offices. We need to return to the study if we want to give our members the meat of God's word. Don't complain about the lack of biblical knowledge of your congregation if you are not doing the hard work of preparing biblically sound messages each week. If we will focus on doing that I'm convinced we will see growth in our churches and in the people who make up our congregations.

Our words are powerful

In a lecture a Rabbi asked his audience if they could go 24 hours without saying anything unkind to or about someone. Some admitted they could not. He explained that if he had asked if they could go 24 without drinking alcohol and they could not they would have to admit they were an alcoholic. If they cannot go that long without speaking unkindly about others then they need to admit they cannot control their tongue.

The same is true when we are speaking to ourselves. In fact, some say that the most impactful conversations we have each day are the ones we have with ourselves. When we speak negatively to ourselves about ourselves we begin to believe that those things are true. If you frequently tell yourself that you are a failure, or that you are stupid, or that you can't do anything right or that you don't deserve to be loved, you are going to believe those things about yourselves, and it will be very difficult to rise above those beliefs.

Sometimes we say those things to ourselves because others have spoken them into us. People who were raised in a family that kept saying negative and hurtful things to them grow up often believing such things. They continue replaying that audio loop they were raised with and return to that every time things don't work out the way they had hoped. In time, they may even quit trying to rise above those negative beliefs they have about themselves.

If you are someone who struggles with negative self-talk I encourage you to begin today speaking positive things into your spirit. An excellent place to begin is with Scripture. The Bible tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made. It reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We read in Scripture that we are a people chosen by God. There are hundreds of positive affirmations in Scripture that apply to each one of us. Search out those affirmations, and as you read them substitute your name in the Scripture. For instance, "Nothing can separate Dennis from the love of God." Begin each day speaking these biblically positive comments to yourself. Write them on index cards to review during the day, especially when things may not be going well.

If you will do this it can turn your life around and fill you with renewed hope and confidence.

"No" is a complete sentence

Like most people, at times I have found myself overwhelmed with things to do. I allowed myself to be overcommitted because I found it difficult to tell people no. Especially as a younger pastor, I seldom refused any request from anyone. I didn't want to disappoint people, and perhaps I had a fear of what is today known as the "fear of missing out (FOMO)." I didn't want to miss an opportunity to experience something new. Unfortunately, staying overcommitted is a sure ticket to burnout, stress, and a host of other problems.

I had to learn to set priorities for my life because if I didn't others would put their priorities on me. When that happens we are living their lives, not our own. We are helping them achieve their dreams and not fulfilling our own. That is not healthy.

One of the dangers today is that we tend to see too many things as priorities. When the word priority first came into English usage it was singular. It wasn't until 500 years after the word first appeared that we began to think about multiple priorities. The problem is when too many things become priorities, nothing is a priority. Perhaps today it's unreasonable to think we can only have one priority for our lives, but we must be very careful to not see too many things as priorities or we become unable to focus on the truly important things we need to accomplish.

I also had to learn to say no to people. In reality, often the things that people ask me to do I'm not the best person to do them anyway. There would be other people far better equipped to do them than me. Not only did I need to learn how to say no, I had to learn that I didn't always need to justify the reason for my declining their request. Sometimes I probably need to offer a reason for saying no, but not always. No is a complete sentence. It states everything that needs to be said in many instances.

Saying no is an important part of setting boundaries for your life. Those incapable of ever saying no to a request have no boundaries. This is a dangerous thing for someone in leadership. As a young pastor I was becoming overwhelmed with all the responsibilities I was feeling in our small church. I spoke to our denominational representative about it, and he explained that I had become the church. I was allowing everyone to dump their responsibilities on me. He further explained that this was not only harmful to me, but it was harmful to the congregation because I wasn't allowing them to be the church God had called them to be. The next Sunday I told the church I would no longer let others give me their responsibilities. If they had accepted a responsibility in the church I would not cover for them when they didn't fulfil that responsibility. If someone asked why something wasn't done I would invite them to ask the person who was supposed to have done it. If I could assist someone or resource someone in their area of responsibility I would do it, but I would no longer do it for them. From that day forward I became more comfortable saying no, and it helped our church and it helped reduce the stress in my life.

Some of you may need to practice saying no. Just stand in front of a mirror and keep repeating no until it becomes easy to form your mouth to say the word. You'll find it doesn't hurt to say the word, and very often it will make you feel much better! It will also allow you the opportunity to focus on the things God has called you to do. 

Leaders should be careful of what they ask for

 For years President Biden sought to be the President of the United States. In the last election he got his wish. I wonder if he perhaps wishes he had lost the election. He has proven to be the most ineffective president in our nation's recent history and will perhaps go down as the worst president ever in the United States if things do not change. Inflation is at highs that have not been seen in decades. Store shelves are empty. Gas prices have skyrocketed. In our community the price of gas has risen by a dollar since he was elected. Businesses have closed or seriously reduced their hours due to a lack of employees. People making larger purchases are finding out their items are backordered and may not be available for 6-12 months. He continually loses court cases that he needs to win to push through his agenda, and even with his party holding the majority in Congress many of the things he supports cannot get passed. He is losing the support of the media and many in his own party. His latest approval ratings are tanking. One shows only 33% gives him a positive rating while 53% give him a negative one.

It can be argued that some of the issues mentioned above are beyond his control, but he and his administration sets policies that lead to some of these issues.  All of the spin in the world cannot change that fact. The fact is that Joe Biden spent a lifetime seeking election as President only to show the world just how incompetent he is in that role. Believe me when I say I do not rejoice that this is the case. I was hoping for much more from him.

However, I have seen the same thing happen with some in ministry positions. We've all seen pastors who sought to climb the ministerial ladder to larger churches only to fail miserably when they obtained those positions. They simply did not have the skills needed to serve in these larger churches. They brought harm to the church and to their own personal ministries as a result.

In 1969 a book was published titled The Peter Principle that addressed this problem. The authors wrote that people sometimes rise to "a level of respective incompetence" based on their success in previous jobs until they finally reach a level where they are no longer effective. We tend to think that skills in one position will automatically transfer to another one which is not always the case.

It is important for leaders, whether political, ministerial, business, to be self-aware enough to know their capabilities. For instance, I know I could serve as pastor in a small or medium-size church, but I would not have the skills or knowledge to serve as the pastor of a much larger or megachurch. My gifts are better suited for those smaller churches. Like Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Be careful what you wish for. Don't wish for more than you can handle. It's a good thing to be stretched, but you don't want to be stretched so tight that you snap. That hurts you and those you are attempting to serve. Know yourself and your capabilities. Always work to increase those capabilities, but stay within them. Each one of us will be much more effective when we work in the areas of our giftedness and abilities.

What can your church do to address the growing suicide problem in the US?

A couple of years ago I was speaking with someone about the suicide problem we were facing. He told me that for the past several months we had been averaging one suicide per week. When you live in a county of less than 17,000 people that is a big number. Many of these were young people. In some cases, it could not be definitely proven that the death was caused by suicide so the actual number might have been even higher. Unfortunately, this is not a problem confined to one area but is a problem throughout our nation. Here we are, a nation considered by many to offer the greatest advantages of any country, with a serious suicide problem. How can our churches address this?

This is one of the issues I address in my latest book Is Your Church Ready for Ministry in the Coming Decade?. I wrote this book because the issues churches face today are much different than the ones we dealt with when I began my ministry in 1981. In the 20 years I served as pastor our congregation never had one suicide. It wasn't until I went into denominational ministry that a member of our church had a spouse commit suicide. The pastor who followed me would not officiate at the funeral so the family called me, and I agreed to minister to them. Unfortunately, today not many pastors can avoid ministering to a family dealing with the trauma of a family member taking their life.

In the book I cover how to minister to one who is considering suicide. I learned, through dealing with a family member who struggled with this, that they will give some obvious hints they are considering ending their lives. People like telling you their stories, and if you listen you will hear the story behind the story.  A counselor, who was treating this family member, called to tell me she felt this person was again considering suicide. When we confronted this family member, and she admitted this was true, we were able to get her some additional help and prevented her from going through with her plans. Do you know what to look for in a person considering suicide? I share some of those things in this book.

The book also addresses how to minister to the family of one who commits suicide. This is a devastating time in a family's life, and it is critical that the minister comes alongside them with wisdom and grace. I'm not sure how many seminaries adequately prepare the minister for this type of ministry even though this ability is needed today more than ever.

Many of the persons who read this blog and my books serve in smaller churches. I included this chapter in the book because I believe this will be a growing issue that will confront more and more churches and their leaders regardless of the size of their churches. If you want some help for this topic, or the others found in the book, it is only available through Amazon as an eBook. I encourage you to check it out today.

Unintended consequences

Economists have a term called unintended consequences. This occurs when someone devises a plan to fix a problem but doesn't realize that the fix will create another problem, sometimes worse. Politicians seem to be especially proficient in developing solutions that have unintended consequences that often create worse problems than the ones they were attempting to resolve. Avoiding unintended consequences requires that one is able to think ahead and consider all the possible effects of a plan, and many politicians are seemingly incapable of thinking ahead or very deeply about the problems they are elected to resolve.

But before we can place too much blame on politicians for unintended consequences we need to admit that church leaders can be guilty of this as well. We are confronted with a problem, we attempt to address it, and then later we find that we have created an even worse situation.

When I was an Area Minister in our denomination I received a call one evening from one of the churches I served asking me to meet with their Church Growth Committee. As soon as I heard those words my heart sunk. I can't think of anything that is more likely to cause a church to not grow than a Church Growth Committee. When a church has a Church Growth Committee whose responsibility is it to grow the church? Yes, it's the committee's responsibility. The rest of the church is off the hook. Church growth is the responsibility of the entire church, not just a particular committee.

This call also told me their focus was off. Knowing this church as I did I knew their most pressing need was to become a healthier church, and if they became a healthier church they would be more likely to grow. If they grew in their current state an intended consequence is they would more likely become even unhealthier. Fortunately, as a result of this call I was able to meet with the committee, share my concerns, and found they were willing to work towards becoming healthier. Even though I'm retired from that position I am able to follow some of what they are doing on social media, and it appears the church is doing well.

Calling the wrong person to be the church's pastor can lead to unintended consequences. Some churches, especially smaller churches, cannot stand to be without a pastor. I know one church that called a pastor after their long-term pastor accepted a call to another church. They called this individual six weeks after beginning their search. It was a disaster. This church lost just about every positive thing it had gained under the previous pastor's leadership.

When church leaders are considering how to best address issues or challenges within the church they need to carefully consider what unintended consequences might arise. It could be helpful to bring in an outside consultant with fresh eyes to help this process. That could be a denominational person, a consultant or even another pastor outside your area. Unintended consequences could result in worse problems than those who were trying to resolve. They could also bring serious problems to your church.

The comeback of the local church

 About three decades ago big-box stores began to spring up across the country driving many of the local mom-and-pop stores out of business. People enjoyed the convenience of one-stop shopping for most of the items they used, and they enjoyed the lower prices these large stores were able to offer. Recently, after being in one of these stores, I told someone that the only people who looked sadder to be shopping there were the people who worked there. No one was smiling. Most people looked frustrated. Many of the shelves were bare because they couldn't get the inexpensive goods from overseas to the store. Many are now abandoning these stores to shop online. But, another thing is also happening.

Across the country you find small locally owned businesses reappearing. They're not trying to compete with the big-box store. They are offering goods and services the big stores do not. They have much smaller buildings and may be located in small strip malls, but they are attracting customers who enjoy doing business with local people who know them and know the community.

Around the same time the big-box stores were spreading across the country, big-box churches were doing the same. It seemed mega-churches were appearing everywhere in the cities that could support them. Untold numbers of smaller churches closed their doors as parishioners flocked to  these churches to enjoy the many services they offered and the new styles of worship they provided. Books were written and conferences held to teach all who were interested how their churches could grow like these churches had. However, some of these churches discovered they were not effectively discipling the thousands of people who attended their services. Much of their efforts were spent ensuring that each week's production was bigger than the preceding week. Some of the well-known leaders began to struggle morally and emotionally from the stresses associated with leading such organizations. And, while many who attended enjoyed the benefits offered by these churches, some also felt rather alone and isolated. Even the small groups they attended didn't always help them feel connected to the church.

Nearly every time I lead a conference for small church and bivocational leaders I am asked if I believe the smaller church has a future. I certainly do! While the mega-churches and other large churches will probably always exist, there are many who prefer to worship in a local setting where people know one another and know the community. I believe the neighborhood church is making a comeback, and this is going to lead to greater opportunities for evangelism, discipleship and ministry.

What impact does it have on an unchurched family when their Christian neighbors drive an hour every Sunday morning to attend a church service? Probably none. What impact can it have when this family is ministered to by their neighbor who attends a worship service down the street? How can lives be changed when we invite our neighbor to attend the local church with us and they find themselves surrounded by others from the community? I've never claimed to be a prophet, but I believe God will continue to use the local church in a mighty way to bring people to Him.

Of course, that local church must have a vision for being used in such a way, and it must be willing to invest itself in serving the community in which it's located. But, for those churches willing to do these things, they can look forward to an exciting time of ministry! 

Decreased church attendance

 Most churches have noticed a significant drop in their worship attendance over the past decade or more. In recent months some of this has been due to the Covid pandemic, but this decrease began well before anyone ever heard of Covid. Some point to the rising number of "Nones," those individuals who report None on survey questions about their religious or church preference. Others claim that it is due to a growing distrust of churches. While each of these do have an impact on worship attendance, much of the decline is internal. Christians do not attend church as often as they used to.

This is known as decreasing attendance frequency and has been called the number one reason for the decline we see in worship attendance. Will Mancini points out how much of an impact this has on a church in his book Future Church: Seven Laws of Real Church Growth. He writes, "Let's say your committed attenders used to come to worship 3.2 times per month on average, but now they come 1.7 times per month (both reasonable estimates, though figures vary from church to church)." Using a chart he demonstrates how this impacts the average worship service attendance in different size churches.

In a church with 100 regular worship attenders, when their average attendance was 3.1 times per month, a church would have an attendance of 74 people, not counting guests. However, when the average attendance drops to 1.7 times per month, there are only 39 people in attendance, not counting guests. Moving to a church with 250 regular worshipers, when people attended an average of 3.1 times per month the church attendance would be 185 people, not counting guests. When that figure dropped to people attending worship services 1.7 times per month the attendance is now 98 people, not counting guests. His chart goes on to compare even larger churches, but this is enough to demonstrate the impact that decreasing attendance frequency has on the numbers of people who attend worship services. Before we complain about the empty seats in our sanctuaries we need to look at ourselves and ask how much of that is due to our own attendance habits.

This may be a new normal that church leaders will have to accept and find ways to continue to do ministry. Pastors will now be called to serve three congregations. One congregation will be those physically present in our services. A second congregation will be those who will be content to be part of our social media congregation, and a third group will occasionally be physically present in our services and continue to watch the services on social media the remainder of the time. This is going to be a great challenge to pastors and church leaders.

How will each congregation be discipled? Who will be responsible for pastoral or congregational care? How do we make the social media congregation feel they are part of the church, and how do we connect those who are physically present with those who participate through social media? How will this impact the financial support of the church? How does this new normal impact the number of volunteers a church needs, and where will those volunteers be found? What is the best way to involve each of these congregations in small groups or Sunday school classes? Do any of these congregations get preference over the others? What's the best way to include each of these congregations in our religious sacraments such as Communion and baptism? I'm sure you can think of many other challenges this new normal will bring to the church.

About now, you're probably hoping I'll give you some answers. I can't because I don't know the answer to each of these questions, at least not for your church. I haven't read any further in Mancini's book to know if he has any answers either. Perhaps the best thing your pastors and the leaders of the church can do is to wrestle with these questions and find the best answer for your church. What is important for you to know is that, barring some national emergency that drives people back into the church, we are unlikely to see the kinds of numbers of people attending worship services that we saw in the 50s and 60s. We simply must find new and better ways of doing ministry going forward.

A blessed way to begin a new year

I cannot begin to describe how much yesterday's service meant to me. It was the first worship service of 2022. We began by baptizing a young woman who had recently asked Christ into her life. At the end of the service we dedicated her baby to the Lord, and during the invitation an individual came rededicating his life to Christ. I can't think of a better way for a church to begin a new year. God is working in our church, and I believe this Sunday was only the start of some great things that will take place in the life of the congregation and the community it serves.

We are offering six small groups that we plan to begin in a couple of weeks. These will run for approximately 10 weeks. Some of these are discipleship groups such as a men's gathering to study a book. Some are designed as side-doors into the church where people from the community will have the opportunity to gather around some common interests, get to know some of our members who share those interests, and learn more about our beliefs. This is the first time the church has attempted something like this so we don't know how well it will be received, but we are not afraid to try new things.

In my message yesterday I spoke of how Rehoboam allowed the gold shields to be taken from Israel and replaced them with shields made of bronze. Many of us allow the same thing to happen in our lives. We allow the enemy to rob us of the gold God wants for our lives and replace that with bronze substitutes. One of the substitutes I addressed was that we have speed but not direction. We rush around doing many things, but we seldom stop long enough to ask if we are doing the right things. This is a matter of understanding our purpose. What is God's vision for our lives? We should always be moving toward the fulfillment of God's purpose for our lives, both individually and as a church. That purpose, that mission, for the church is to fulfill the Great Commission.

This is why the service yesterday meant so much to me. A young mother found Christ in her life, not in the baptism, but a few weeks earlier when she prayed inviting Him to be her Lord and Savior. A baby was dedicated to the Lord, and as was pointed out, the mother and the church were both making a commitment to help that child find Christ for herself when she became of age. Another individual took a step towards deeper discipleship in his life. Small groups are being developed for both evangelistic and discipleship efforts. This is a church that is moving forward with purpose, that understands its primary mission, and is pursuing that mission.

My prayer is that at the end of 2022 the church will look back and see the fruits of its efforts in changed lives, transformed homes, and growing disciples.